Meghan Markle's biographer has defended his "countdown" post which he made before Princess Kate's cancer announcement.
Omid Scobie, who penned a biography on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2020 titled Finding Freedom, riled up royal fans on Friday evening.
The author posted a screenshot to his followers on X of an alarm clock app being set to 6pm at 4:59pm on Friday afternoon, one hour before Kate announced her cancer diagnosis to the world.
Scobie's post caused speculation from fans about what was set to be announced.
However, Scobie deleted the post after he was criticised online, an hour after the video message from the Princess of Wales was released.
One user replied to his post saying: "Disgusting man. Literal shame on you."
Another social media user said: "Will you now shut up Scobie? Are you happy now?"
Scobie has since taken to X to defend his controversial post.
He wrote: "When there was word circulating that an announcement was coming from the Palace at 6pm GMT, I tweeted an image of the time for followers to keep an eye out.
"When the world, and myself, learned how serious the news ended up being, I removed the tweet to stop any speculation taking place underneath it.
"It's upsetting and disturbing to now see that post being portrayed as some sort of sick 'countdown' by the Mail (and other outlets that quickly copied). I try to shrug off lies like these, but this one was too disgusting to ignore."
Scobie has ruffled royal feathers before with the publication of his book Endgame in November 2023.
In this book, the author described Princess Kate as "Stepford wife-like", and also went into detail about Prince Harry and Prince William's rift.
Four years ago, Scobie's book Finding Freedom, which he co-wrote with Carolyn Durand, was an in-depth biography about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
In November 2020, Meghan's legal team admitted that she had permitted a close friend to communicate with Scobie and Durand, "so the true position... could be communicated to the authors to prevent any further misrepresentation".
This confirmed the duchess's participation in the book, which representatives for the Sussexes initially denied.
In a video announcing her cancer diagnosis, Kate said: "In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London and at the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous. The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present.
"My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment."
She later added: "It has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be ok.
"As I have said to them; I am well and getting stronger every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal; in my mind, body and spirit.
"Having William by my side is a great source of comfort and reassurance too. As is the love, support and kindness that has been shown by so many of you. It means so much to us both.
"We hope that you will understand that, as a family, we now need some time, space and privacy while I complete my treatment."
